South Africans are gatvol for load shedding. Photo: iStock
Budget? What budget? I can tell you what South Africans want or will be very much hoping Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana spends their money on when he delivers his budget speech.
One entity, something that brings excruciating darkness and pain when its name is dared uttered.
Eskom. This is the one word that will be on lips of everyone sitting wide-eyed and who cares to listen to the budget speech, hoping that it’s just not another repeat by a minister who has the power to spend millions of South Africans hard-earned money.
A lack of detail around the debt plan for Eskom would be a significant disappointment against the backdrop of anticipation building around a solution to load shedding, said Old Mutual Investment Group chief economist Johann Els to Moneyweb.
If a photo by South Africa’s favourite puppet politician is anything to go by, then be afraid, be very afraid, because Chester Missing putting his ear to an open toilet saying “Picture of me preparing to respond to the budget speech happening later” may be an indication that there may be just more kak than actual action to fix what is terribly wrong in this country, starting with Eskom.
Eskom has painted itself into a R422bn debt corner and anything Godongwana is expected to announce on Wednesday to restore its financial viability will be one of the key factors of his budget speech.
Basically Eskom needs money and truckloads of it, perhaps a lot more trucks of moola to also buy diesel and lower these damn deliberate power cuts that have consumed every aspect of South Africans’ lives.
To sum it up: Minister, put the money where your mouth is, don’t just show Eskom the money, give the damn state-owned entity the money.
#FedUpWithLoadShedding was trending on Twitter on Wednesday, perhaps as a reminder to Godongwana and President Cyril Ramaphosa that enough is enough.
South Africa needs to go forward at a rapid pace and this was echoed by former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela in a tweet.
“Will the Minister of Finance take us forward towards the society we fought for as reflected in the Social Justice Milestones Albie Sachs reminded us of being: Bill of African Claims,1943 Freedom Charter, 1955, IntreConstitution, 1993 and current Constitution, 1996?”
So, as Godongwana dons that crisp suit, South Africans will be waiting with bated breath and perhaps when the finance minister purses his lips ready to form the first few letters of the name of that failing power entity, many will also be hoping they don’t experience the height of irony when all goes dark.
So, Mr. Finance Minister, no doubt you would have received a lot of tips from the public on the budget like your predecessor got. My tip to you is just give the money, a lot of it, to Eskom to keep the lights on, because like 60 million other South Africans, I am fed up with load shedding.
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